Salvage and Survival

This morning I cautiously popped my head out of my sliding front door before heading out. Not to see if it is raining, no. To size up the perils of my backyard and what lies beyond. Birds chirping, check. Appropriate level of street noise, check. Piles of leftover construction wood- unkempt, but in an organized sort of mess that would make sense to only me and my sweetie. No OCD intruder has come in the night to organize our yard. Wood, Check. On the way to the car, I suspiciously eyeball the people at the bus stop before jumping in the safety of my Korean hotrod (it’s actually closer to a old boot on wheels.)

Why am I acting like a freak? No, we haven’t been burgled. I stayed up all night reading the Hunger Games and now I’m obsessed. Tired and hungry, too. That just makes it all the better to feel like I’m on some sort of quest.  A bird flies into the understory and I think, “Ya, you better get out of here… or I’ll eat you.”

I don’t read fiction often because of the life disrupting effects. Not only have I not eaten, slept, or completed any urgent work, this morning I have an overwhelming need to go to the metal scrap yard. Work will have to wait again. On the drive down, each person I pass is a competitor, and I throw them a glance as my Korean hot rod passes them at a cautiously fast but clearly superior speed. Breakin’ the rules. Stickin’ to the… well, I guess I don’t really have a point in passing everyone. To win, I guess.

I haven’t been to Pac Iron since I was a sculpture student in college and now I have a hankering to see what types of junk can be remade into cool stuff. I need fodder for a post but more importantly, I can’t help but think this place would be like a treasure world for a survivalist. So I’m off to Pacific Iron and Metal.

A whole bin of machine screws. Like candy.

Hefty sheet metal- protects from all sorts of elements including poison fog.

These are cool. I almost brought some home, but the face on the container was a little scary.

Nothing jumped out at me to take home and remake, though I may go back for some of these chains for a chandelier project we’ve got coming up at Lola Floral (stay tuned for that!).

I had forgotten how much I like the smell of burnt metal, but overall I was underwhelmed. I remember this place having a lot more cool junk- from boats and stuff. But then it hit me. Of course. The rebellion. It’s all being melted down to support the rebellion.

And since I didn’t find something I wanted to remake into something else, here are some great uses of repurposed materials from the nation’s rebels.

Sewer pipes from Sunset.com

wood wall from Design Sponge

salvaged wood for a fence by Valle de Verde via Sunset.com

Wagon Shelf from Ki Nassauer

Succulent planter from Small Space Gardening

Wishing you all a mental vacation and some salvage inspiration.

Tags: chain, crate shelf, grates, Hunger Games, letters, metal, pacific iron and metal, pipe, planter, recycle, repurposed materials, rod, salvage, scrap yard, seattle, sheet metal, steel, succulent planter, survivalist, wagon shelf, wall, wheel, wood